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Benzos Minor (alprazolam?) WDs, advice wanted

I

IllicitOne

Greenlighter
Joined
May 1, 2013
Messages
21
Hello all,

My friend ran into some oc a little over 2 weeks ago. He would use for 1-3 days with only about a day or two break (on which he would take 1-2mg of xanax once a day). He used xanax the 23-25 to aid in the sleeplessness from stopping OC. He used OC again on the 26th, and then used xanax again 27-30 (.5-1mg/day).

Now, is this enough to develop a tolerance? I know it is enough to develop a minor opiate dependence (my friend was addicted to OC for 3 months ~4 years ago) and addiction can creep up fast. I experienced VERY minor opiate WD symptoms, and last night was my friends first drug-free sleep since a little over 2 weeks ago!

Here's the question, would this be log enough to develop xanax WD symptoms? My friends history with xanax has always been recreational, and never addicted/wds ever, except maybe a sleepless night after a day or two. This would been my friends 5th day of no opiates, and he feels worse today than yesterday, which is odd. Symptoms are:
Headache
Clammy/tingly hands
Minor occular pressure (could be headache)
RLS this morning

Last xanax dose/time was 1mg on 29th to sleep. If this is in fact xanax withdrawl, are there any OTC medications the aid in reduction of symptoms as there is in opiate withdrawl?

Any input is greatly appreciated, I've used this forum as a guest many times in the past and this is my first time posting here. Thanks-
 
unless he has been taking over 1mg for over three weeks, give or take, consecutively everyday, then he may experience mild withdrawls.

The lower the dose the easier so taper. I take about .125-.5 mg of xanax ALMOSt everyday, thats how conservative i am, because when i used to abuse them when i first got the script the withdrawals were WORSE than opioid withdrawals by 2X at least.
 
Withdraw symptoms takes years to develop. He most certainly is not physically addicted to it due this short use period.

Despite that, he might experience a little anxiety tho. I always advice a gradual discontinuation anyway, no matter the situation.
 
twoface said:
Withdraw symptoms takes years to develop. He most certainly is not physically addicted to it due this short use period.

Despite that, he might experience a little anxiety tho. I always advice a gradual discontinuation anyway, no matter the situation.
Click to expand...

That's absolutely not true. It definitely does NOT take years to develop benzo withdrawal. For some it might, but I've known many that have fought habits within a month or two, sometimes even within weeks if they dose high enough. The first benzo habit I had caught on after about 6 weeks to 2 months. I detoxed for a short period of time but I've now been dependant for over 3 years.

Anyway, it is highly unlikely you are going through benzo withdrawal with such infrequent use and low dosing. If anything it's rebound anxiety or PAWS from the oxycodone.

Oh, and I forgot to add, Xanax/benzodiazepine withdrawals share some similarities with opiate withdrawals but they are distinctive. For instance, tremors in ones hands, seizures, ticks, depersonalization, and a host of other nasty shit you can find if you scour the web. I also sweat more when withdrawing from benzodiazepines, but that's just me.
 
yeah i sweat terribly in benzo withdrawal, still sweat bad in opiate withdrawal but not as much. The withdrawal symptoms do overlap quite a bit, the gastrointestinal issues are similar, the anxiety, the muscle pain and insomnia. Sometimes i can't tell which withdrawal i'm going through, or if it's a mix of the two.

Some things that benzo withdrawal will cause that opiate withdrawal doesn't are mentioned above. Derealization and depersonlization are the big ones for me with benzos. RLS is not a defining characteristic of benzo withdrawal IME either, so you're likely experiencing perhaps a bit of rebound from xanax and mostly just opiate withdrawal. At day 5 i still feel shitty even from a short acting opioid.
 
I wouldn't worry about withdrawals to much. If you're in withdrawals you sure won't have to ask anyone whether you are or are not.

Take a break and learn from this experience.
 
twoface said:
Withdraw symptoms takes years to develop. He most certainly is not physically addicted to it due this short use period.

Despite that, he might experience a little anxiety tho. I always advice a gradual discontinuation anyway, no matter the situation.
Click to expand...

After just 4 weeks of abusing Xanax, I became addicted without realising it. I had a script for 2mg x 50 repeat 3 times. My first bottle got cained within 2 weeks, I went to the chemist and rung my doctor telling him I left my bottle on an airplane. The chemist gave me another repeat in which I also abused. Although yes I was using at a very very high rate, when I stopped (I gave most of the second bottle away, unaware of WD symptoms) I had the most horrendous WD ever. I couldn't sleep for near 5 whole days, I was hallucinating, I had 2 seizures and I didn't eat properly for also about 5 days. I decided to ride it out cold turkey and had probably the worst experience of my life to date. So this concludes that also there may be some sort of correlation with time at smaller doses, if taken in high doses dependence can be a result within a matter of weeks.
 
that sounds like anything but xanax withdrawal.

that's the other thing-withdrawal. Compared to that, xanax withdrawal is 'icky' and lasts for a few days at best.

Of course it covers up the horror of opiate withdrawal to an extent....
if possible, procure loooong acting benzo like Librium and look at protocol. SInce it's been day 5 after last dose of narcotic, it's not going to get terribly worse...it's possible it might linger, and of course there will be anxiety. This is not day 3 with 5 withdrawals setting in at once....this is nothing.

The addiction is not nothing and should be taken care of, but whatever...
for the moment being, would be ultimately stupid to take opiates. High doses of melatonin are indeed used for benzodiazepine withdrawal [10mg ....one, two, x number of tablets a day] with some reports of 'success' not uncommon. Symptoms of this and that go away, and sleep somehow comes.

Chamomile tea, or to the vitamin conglomerate shops, and get the extract. Also, SKULLCAP [yes yes]. in doses far above the recommended limit. And a jaundice-inducing dose of valerian here and there [eat the root, something along those lines]. It does HELP A LITTLE.
Diversion is important, force a movie, a very long one...eventually it will get interesting or if not, something else will catch his attention. It's day 5...allow a few more. Buy the teas and the herbs. They do help, or at least they don't harm...it's not a replacement, it's to take away as much nasty stuff as possible.
 
@ Znegative
@ Brownz

Sorry guys, thats what i've heard from a doctor when I questioned him if my one month of continuous use of xanax would lead me to a withdraw if i'd quit immediately. Guess he was wrong after all.
 
It's no problem-just remember that doctors are human too, and therefor capable of making mistakes. Although I do feel like that's a pretty big fuck up on your Doctor's part. Benzo Withdrawal is very serious, and one doesn't need to be an addict to become dependent.
 
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